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Give the Gift of a Meal This Holiday Season

December 7, 2021

During this holiday season of giving, now is a great time to help a neighbor in need. Synergent is committed to making a difference for credit unions, their members, and our local community. We accomplish this through the services and support we provide to our credit union partners, but we are also able to achieve this through the support of our signature social responsibility initiative, the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger.

While we provide services to credit unions across the country, hunger remains a significant problem in our home state of Maine:

  • Maine ranks 1st in New England in terms of childhood food insecurity
  • Maine ranks 5th in the nation for very low food security rates
  • 20% of Maine children face food insecurity
  • 182,000 Mainers will experience hunger in 2021 compared to about 157,000 in 2019
  • Before the pandemic, 12.3% of Mainers experienced food insecurity
    • At the height of the pandemic, that number jumped to 14.7%
  • Maine’s 2021 hunger rate is estimated to level off at 13.5%, which is still higher than the pre-pandemic food insecurity level
    Source: Good Shepherd Food Bank

Holiday Meals for Mainers

This holiday season, Synergent has supported Holiday Meals for Mainers. This initiative encourages donors to make a donation of as little as $5 to get food on the tables of those in need. This time of year is typically considered to be a festive one, but with the pandemic lingering and taking an economic toll on many, it can be a particularly stressful time for individuals and families who are food insecure.

What is the Campaign for Ending Hunger?

All Maine credit unions participate in this signature social responsibility campaign that is the largest, non-hunger organization-based philanthropic fundraising effort to end hunger in Maine. Since 1990, the Campaign has raised over $10.4 million, including a record-breaking $960,021.10 raised last year. Funding for the campaign comes from four sources:

  • Credit Unions: Dollars raised by individual credit unions through fundraising activities such as payroll deduction, raffles, and events;
  • Chapters: Dollars raised by chapters from golf outings, auctions, and other activities;
  • Maine Credit Union League and Synergent: Dollars raised by the Maine Credit Union League and Synergent from the annual golf tournament, auctions, and other activities; and
  • Other: Dollars raised from corporations (both in and outside Maine), individuals, vendors, and others that share our commitment to ending hunger in our state.

Donate Today

There is no better way to give back than the gift of food to someone in need and, together, we can make this season brighter.  You too can affect change by joining our social responsibility initiative by making your donation today.

Donations can be made securely online and are tax deductible. If preferred, you can send a check to:

Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger
P.O. Box 1236
Portland, Maine 04104